I’ve been in a bit of a ham radio slump lately. It had been nearly three weeks since my last park activation, and I’ve only had a few QSOs from the home station. Our temperatures have finally gotten above freezing this week, so I headed out to Evansburg State Park (US-1351, KFF-1351) for a long-overdue activation this morning.
With the slightly warmer temperatures this week, the snow and ice from last month’s storm are finally melting (a little). Even though the temperatures are above freezing, we still have what I refer to as “refrigerator weather.” Still, I braved the chilly weather and operated outdoors today.
I was the only person in the park this morning, so I had a large picnic pavilion to myself. Of course, there usually aren’t many picnics on a weekday morning in February. I went with my Elecraft KH1 and whip antenna with a right-angle adapter from Tufteln. I ran my counterpoise wire out across the snow.
I started out on 40M with the Elecraft AXE1 extension coil. As always, the little whip antenna amazed me with how well it was getting out. I logged eight contacts in the first 10 minutes before the action slowed. After logging 11 contacts, I moved up to 20M. The action was a little slower there, but I still managed seven more contacts.
My coffee mug was nearly empty, so I called it quits after an hour on the air. I finished up with 18 contacts in my log. Not bad for a 45-inch antenna and “fair” band conditions, I suppose.
It was fun getting back out in a park again. Hopefully, I’ll get in another activation or two before the next round of snow shows up.
72, Craig WB3GCK
WB3GCK QRP Amateur Radio 